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What Do YIMBYs and Donald Trump Have in Common?

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trump_yimby.jpg

 

What Do YIMBYs and Donald Trump Have in Common?

[ first published nov 2024; updated july 2026 ]

  1. YIMBYs and Trump are consistently complicit in the offloading of vast amounts of public property to friends in the speculative real estate market, prioritizing commodified luxury housing focused on serving their speculator investors and affluent singles while ignoring real affordability needs of DC’s working families who are making the DC minimum wage or anyone making less than $65,000/yr. https://savedcpublicland.org/the1617project/2023/06/09/dcs-sordid-track-record-of-public-land-giveaways/

     

  2. Both Trump and YIMBYs ignore or dismiss genuine solutions that could provide DC and cities across the nation the truly affordable housing it deserves. Instead of deploying programs such as custom zoning and social housing, Trump and YIMBYs favor private developers doing the lifting and grifting instead of strong municipal initiatives like that happening around the nation. Worse yet, Trump and YIMBYs go further and actively endorse the privatization of public housing through “repositioning” programs that give away acres upon acres of public land. https://ggwash.org/view/97236/dcs-public-housing-agency-is-making-halting-progress-but-much-more-needs-to-be-done

     

  3. Both YIMBYs and Donald Trump share a deeply troubling agenda that displaces lower-income working families and people of color from their rooted neighborhoods without much concern or acknowledgement (60,000+ Black residents displaced from DC over the past two decades of “build more”).  This is seen vividly in Washington, D.C., where our city consistently ranks among the top cities for gentrification, with devastating impacts on longstanding Black communities with barely a blush by YIMBYs. https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/EVDFHVYYVVSXWIYMPVQ9/full

     

  4. [new july 2026]  Donald Trump is storming forward to deregulate any oversight — community input and design review — especially as it regards historic properties and irreplaceable cultural assets to YIMBY cheers. 

    From District Links dated July 27, 2026

    Preservation and environmental groups are decrying proposed changes advanced by a federal panel that would upend what’s known as the Section 106 review process, named for the relevant section of the National Historic Preservation Act and applicable to an array of projects that involve historic sites under federal ownership.

    The push comes as President Donald Trump and administration officials seek to clear the path for proposed projects such as a monumental arch at the foot of Memorial Bridge that would otherwise trigger a lengthy review process. They’ve complained that current procedures are overly complex and restrictive — a common refrain among proponents of projects held up by Section 106 reviews.

    After a vote Friday by the federal government’s Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the rulemaking proposal will now move to an “interagency review process” overseen by the Office of Management and Budget prior to publication in the Federal Register, according to an announcement.

    “Public participation is a founding principle of this democracy, and today’s vote treats it as an obstacle to be removed,” Illya Azaroff, president of the American Institute of Architects, said in a statement. “When communities lose their voice in decisions about the places that shape their lives, we all lose something that cannot easily be recovered.” 

    The National Trust for Historic Preservation — a statutory member of the 24-member Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, which is otherwise comprised primarily by presidential appointees and federal officials — noted that it “vehemently opposes” the changes as written and criticized the process that led to the recommendations.

    “If implemented, federal agencies will no longer be required to avoid or minimize damage to our nation’s historic sites and landscapes, or seek public input on federal projects that would impact historic places,” Brent Leggs, CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, said in a statement.

    — ‘Trump officials vote to rewrite historic preservation rules, in boon for arch.’ WaPo’s Dan Diamond and Jake Spring: “Trump officials on Friday voted to rewrite federal rules intended to protect historic sites, sending the plan to the White House for further review.

    “The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, a federal agency that oversees preservation reviews and advises the president and Congress, said it was moving forward with changes to a federally required process that governs changes to landmarks such as the National Mall, sites that are significant to Indigenous tribes and other properties eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The process currently applies to any construction projects that are on federal land or receive federal funding, as well as private projects that require any type of federal approval.” [WaPo]

    — ‘Trump-backed historic preservation panel approves controversial rules change.’ WBJ’s Drew Hansen: “The changes should help expedite President Donald Trump’s planned 250-foot arch near Arlington National Cemetery as well as perhaps other changes he has floated around the National Mall. The Trump administration has bemoaned reviews related to the arch project, calling them burdensome. The administration has been looking to make quick work of various projects so they can be completed before the end of Trump’s term in early 2029.” [WBJ]

YIMBYs don’t have to care about the impacts of their build-baby-build rhetoric because they are privileged enough not to bear the adverse brunt of their advocating to privatize public land and build more luxury units, this same policy that benefits the exact class of real estate players who fund campaigns of politicians like Donald Trump. 

 

 

#IZFAIL

#IZFAIL

But wait there’s more

. . .

Find out why the YIMBY “affordability” program in DC, called “Inclusionary Zoning” or “IZ”, is an absolute fraud perpetuated to guise the overblown and continuing construction of mostly unaffordable market-rate luxury housing units despite the growing racial disparity and displacement in DC.


Other links of import::

 
 
 

 

Tonight, U Street ANC Considers Residential Deregulation That Likely Hits Wards 5, 7, and 8 Hardest

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DC for Reasonable Development, Chris Otten, 202-810-2768
January 8, 2026
Behind Rhetoric of Ward 3 “Exclusivity” – U Street ANC Considers Residential Deregulation That Likely Hits Wards 5, 7, and 8 Hardest
Washington, DC — Tonight, an ANC resolution is being considered by Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1B (ANC1B) that is being touted as a way to dismantle exclusionary zoning in wealthy neighborhoods like Ward 3. Housing advocates warn the proposal is far more likely to increase displacement and speculative redevelopment in Wards 5, 7, and 8.

The resolution (attached) — “Resolution Urging By-Right Gentle Density Throughout the District of Columbia,” whose language and policy framework closely track a recent housing deregulation report by the conservative think tank, American Enterprise Institute (AEI) — was introduced by Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1B Commissioner Francois Barrilleaux and urges the District’s Office of Planning to embed sweeping zoning changes into the Comprehensive Plan.

If adopted by the city, the proposal would allow demolition and conversion of single-family homes into multi-unit housing “by-right”, removing community review and ANC advice for residential projects across large swaths of the city without any deeper affordability requirements.

Supporters argue the changes would open up high-income neighborhoods to more affordable housing, but the proposal makes no attempt to tie any of the extra density granted “by-right” to assurances of additional affordability or for more family-sized homes.

Critics counter that economic realities would make widespread redevelopment in places like Ward 3 unlikely, even with zoning deregulation.  Anti-displacement advocates say the greatest impacts unironically would fall on Wards 5, 7, and 8, where lower land costs, higher investor access, and by elimination of community review, fewer safeguards would make existing family homes more vulnerable to speculative acquisition and demolition.

“This is being sold as a challenge to exclusivity, but the market doesn’t work that way,” said Debby Hanrahan of Save DC Public Land. “By-right deregulation won’t remake Ward 3 — it will put more pressure on families in DC neighborhoods already at risk.”


The American Enterprise Institute, whose housing-policy efforts seek land use deregulation and expanded by-right development, is governed by a board that includes real estate developers, private equity executives, hedge fund managers, and property investors — sectors that would materially benefit from reduced zoning limits and the removal of community review.

AEI publicly credits 1B02 Commissioner, Francois Barrilleaux, a paid employee of the conservative right think tank, for research assistance on the report that informs the ANC resolution.

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Barrilleaux has also stated publicly that his goal is to build a citywide coalition of ANCs to push these recommendations into District planning and zoning policy.

“The ANC Commissioner makes no attempt to look at the far reaching affects of this proposal especially on DC communities already reeling from the adverse impacts of 15 years of immense land speculation. Equitable housing policy should reduce displacement, not shift it,” Hanrahan said. “This resolution signals the opposite direction of anti-displacement strategies like social housing.”



###
Media Contact
DC for Reasonable Development
Chris Otten
202-810-2768
dc4reality@gmail.com
pdf icon Resolution-Urging-By-Right-Gentle-Density-Throughout-the-District-of-Columbia-v4-clean.pdf

Political Price to Pay on RFK Due to Persistent “Extreme Levels of Income Inequality”

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DC4RD Press Update
SEP 16, 2025
The Political Price for “Egregious” RFK Stadium Deal As “Extreme Levels of Income Inequality” Persists in DC; Social Housing Needed to Rightsize Stadium Deal
As a new DCFPI report shows, “Extreme Levels of Income Inequality Persist” in the city, just as the D.C. Council is on the precipice of greenlighting the largest land giveaway in city history: 80 acres at the RFK campus — 20 acres for a billionaire's luxury football stadium, and 60 more acres to Josh Harris for high-end condos, hotels, and commercial development. All this land gifted for a few dollars a year for up to 99 years.

RFKGiveawayAwayAway__medlite2_med.gif

“The land rent break is so egregious in magnitude,” economist Geoffrey Propheter wrote on social media, “that if I didn't know it was proposed by a mayor for a stadium, I would have assumed the sublessee had incriminating evidence on the lessor and was using it for a shakedown.”

 

It’s “the biggest public sports subsidy in U.S. history by a mile,” according to Neil deMause, a journalist who tracks stadium deals across the country for Field of Schemes. deMause puts D.C.’s total subsidy at over $6.5 billion.


This level of corporate welfare is being excused in part by Council Chairman, Phil Mendelson, who points to the affordable housing Josh Harris promises to build including for households making 60% of the area median income or about $100,000 a year in annual income (The Area Median Income, which has rapidly increased annually for the past decade, is now at $163,900 for a family of four).  

SOCIAL HOUSING TO MAKE RFK DEAL BETTER
Local housing advocates have said the status quo AMI housing as proposed in the RFK deal is not affordable and have pointed to including social housing as a way to make this RFK much much better: 

“Integrating social housing at RFK could transform a lopsided stadium deal into an engine of equity and economic resilience—helping to cover infrastructure and debt costs without pushing the burden onto working families.”

As the retiring Washington Post columnist Colbert I. King warned in 2019, D.C. government plays an “active role in development, selling or leasing publicly owned land, changing zoning laws, closing alleys and providing developers with inducements to construct new or refurbish old buildings … with resultant racial and class tensions.”

The reverbating political price for RFK may likely be as high as the actual cost of the stadium to the city year over year.

###

Citations:




News Roundup — Mendelson’s Deal Still Gives Away The Land —> Fwd: Fair Fridays: Our Last Stand (and then celebration!)

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RFK News 
Monopoly Man Makes Mumbo Muriel Happy, Sets his Own Stadium Deal Terms Before the Public Hearing on July 29!

Screenshot_2025-07-25_12-43-18.jpg

Hill Rag — July 25 — https://www.hillrag.com/2025/07/25/council-chair-reaches-deal-with-commanders-at-rfk/Council — Chair Reaches Deal With Commanders at RFK
WaPo — July 24 — https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/mendelson-reaches-deal-with-commanders-on-rfk-site-amid-growing-pressure/ar-AA1Je1IP — Mendelson reaches deal with Commanders on RFK site amid growing pressure
NBC Sports — July 24 — https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/d-c-council-sets-commanders-stadium-vote-for-august-1
D.C. Council sets Commanders stadium vote for August 1, D.C. Council is done dragging its feet. Next week, they'll vote on the proposed Commanders facility, to be built at the site of RFK Stadium.
WUSA9 — July 24 — https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/investigations/commanders-stadium/commanders-dc-council-rfk-stadium-deal-reached-sources/65-b80922cc-20ea-41d4-bfb8-b739dc4c1bb3 — DC Council chair reaches amended deal with Commanders on RFK Stadium, sources say WASHINGTON — DC Council Chair Phil Mendelson has reached a deal with the Commanders on an amended stadium agreement, which he will put…
Councilmember Charles Allen suggest ways to improve the deal:

Ward 7 Gets Almost Nothing Guaranteed to Help Repair the Disinvestment Harms of the Past & Many Folks Still Feel Left Out –WUSA9 — July 25 — https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/investigations/commanders-stadium/vote-on-rfk-stadium-redevelopment-nearby-residents-left-out/65-4ea02ae0-791a-44b6-b1c2-fd47fc3de5b2 — Vote on RFK Stadium redevelopment moves forward, but nearby residents say they’re being left out
And Yet Still Almost Half of this Public Site's Air Rights (the Control of the Public Land) is Given Away for a Pittance to Billionaire Josh Harris for up to 99 Years.  Leaving Hundreds of Millions, some say in the Billions in land value and control on the table at a time of deep budget cuts and economic uncertainties.
RFKGiveawayAwayAway__medlite2_med.gif

Nothing yet in the terms to promote Social Housing — No terms about retaining municipal control to ensure self-determination for Ward 7 and the City to Build What WE want and what WE need WHEN we need it.
No one has explained why the land around the stadium has to be given away, when we know the value of the land is exactly where the $ will come to pay off debt serving and then some, including a community investment fund dedicated to East of the River peoples in the name of reparations and equity.

SOME THINGS TO DO AND MORE BELOW.

———- Forwarded message ———
From: Info FBC <info@fairbudget.org>
Date: Fri, Jul 25, 2025 at 10:57 AM
Subject: Fair Fridays: Our Last Stand (and then celebration!)
To: Info FBC <info@fairbudget.org>
Our Last Stand (and then celebration!)

Fwd: DC Budget 2026: DC Council Chair, Phil Mendelson Wants Budget Cuts, Not Revenue Solutions; It’s a “Trump-like Attack on DC’s Black & Brown Working-Class”

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fyi

———- Forwarded message ———
Date: Thu, Jul 3, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Subject: <Press Update> DC Budget 2026: DC Council Chair, Phil Mendelson Wants Budget Cuts, Not Revenue Solutions; It's a “Trump-like Attack on DC's Black & Brown Working-Class”
To: <press@dc4reality.com>, <press_it_now@dcfeedback.com>
Cc: <secretary@dc.gov>, Henderson, Christina (Council) <chenderson@dccouncil.gov>, <rwhite@dccouncil.gov>, <abonds@dccouncil.gov>, McDuffie, Kenyan (Council) <kmcduffie@dccouncil.gov>, <wfelder@dccouncil.gov>, <callen@dccouncil.gov>, Parker, Zachary (Council) <zparker@dccouncil.gov>, <jlewisgeorge@dccouncil.gov>, <mfrumin@dccouncil.gov>, <bpinto@dccouncil.gov>, Nadeau, Brianne K. (Council) <bnadeau@dccouncil.gov>, Mendelson, Phil (COUNCIL) <pmendelson@dccouncil.gov>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 2, 2025

DC Budget 2026: DC Council Chair, Phil Mendelson Wants Budget Cuts, Not Revenue Solutions; It's a “Trump-like Attack on DC's Black & Brown Working-Class” 

(In Memoriam David Schwartzman)

Washington, DC — July 2, 2025 — During a budget work session Wednesday, DC Council Chair Phil Mendelson pushed back against proposals by Councilmember colleagues who want to seek out new revenue to reverse the deep cuts found in Mayor Bowser’s proposed FY 2026 budget, which many have called a “MAGA austerity budget.”


See Part 1 and Part 2 of the July 2 Council budget workshop here:
https://dc.granicus.com/viewpublisher.php?view_id=2

Screenshot_2025-07-03_12-21-32.jpg


The Council Chair, who in the past couple of weeks declared he will “cabin” or preserve  $1B dollars in the budget for a football stadium deal, urged colleagues to prioritize additional cuts to what he called “overspending,” effectively shrinking an already limited budget pie and threatening critical services for DC’s low-income, Black, and Brown residents.

The late Professor David Schwartzman, a longtime DC advocate for social and economic justice who passed away recently, testified at the June 18 public budget hearing, warning of the Mayor’s “assault on low-income residents” testifying to the types of brutal cuts in the budget: 

Watch Professor Schwartzman’s full testimony: YouTube Video @ 4:07:04

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“[The] repeal of the DC child tax credit, the ending of the baby bonds program, both of which would reduce racial income and wealth gaps… [C]uts in TANF … ERAP, SNAP, … no funding for housing vouchers for individuals experiencing homelessness… ” and the list goes on, including massive curtailing of the locally funded longest running DC healthcare program, Alliance Healthcare, pushing 25,000 DC adults over the age of 26 off the program and into certain harm.

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Councilmembers Charles Allen, Zachary Parker, Brianne Nadeau, Janeese Lewis George, and Matthew Frumin — without objection from their colleagues — raised the possibility of revenue measures to save vital programs and protect vulnerable residents. 

See their discussion on “Revenue-Raising” especially at 29 minutes into the Council video: Council Session Video.

With perseverance by Councilmembers pushin back against the Chair's resistance, Mendelson agreed to receive a list of “Revenue-Raising” ideas from his colleagues for further discussion before the first Council vote on the budget, currently scheduled for July 14, 2025. Details on the upcoming vote is available here: https://lims.dccouncil.gov/Hearings/hearings/846


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For more information, contact:

Chris Otten
DC for Reasonable Development
(202) 810 2768

DC Budget 2026: 25,000 Lower-Income DC Residents Could be Removed From DC Insurance

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DC Budget 2026: Council May Approve Bowser's Elimination of Healthcare for 25,000 Low-Income Adults While Protecting Nearly a Billion in Stadium Funding — Advocates Demand Council Reverse Plan to Kill 25-Year-Old Healthcare Alliance Program

COUNCIL BUDGET SESSION WATCH PARTY ANNOUNCED

Washington, D.C. — A new legal analysis authored in part by former DC Councilmember David Grosso confirms that the DC Council Committee on Health has so far chosen not to reverse Mayor Muriel Bowser’s plan to effectively end the DC Healthcare Alliance program for adults over 21. According to the report:

“On October 1, 2027, coverage for all Alliance participants aged 21 and older will end, leaving the program available only to children and young adults under 21.” (Full report: Arent Fox Schiff on DC Healthcare Alliance)

The proposed cuts may save around $100 million annually for the District but would leave 25,000 low-income DC residents un- or under-insured, pushing them into precarious health outcomes and greater reliance on even more expensive emergency services.

The Keep DC Healthy Coalition has informed Councilmembers that fully funding the Alliance program would provide critical cost savings and better health outcomes for DC: As insured residents receive regular primary care and experience 40% fewer emergency visits and 53% fewer hospitalizations, saving an estimated $3,400 per person compared to the costs of irregular, emergency-driven care.

Advocates emphasize the disproportionate impact these cuts will have on East of the River Wards 7 and 8, which have the highest Alliance enrollment and where life expectancy is already on average 15-years shorter than in wealthier areas of the city.

Keep DC Healthy Coalition also highlighted the broader economic and public health consequences:

“A failed primary care system will result in a sicker workforce and a health system even more overburdened and spiraling from lack of compensation for care than it is now. These impacts will affect everyone who relies on the safety net, or on hospitals that see a lot of uncompensated care, not ‘just’ Alliance beneficiaries.”

The DC City Council is scheduled to hold a budget work session on Wednesday, July 2, and the Fair Budget Coalition has organized a virtual watch party for concerned residents to follow developments and show support for preserving vital healthcare services.

Join the Budget Work Session Watch Party:

  • Date: Wednesday, July 2, 2025

  • Time: 10:30 AM ET

  • Zoom Link: Join Meeting

  • Meeting ID: 890 4090 6207

  • Passcode: 060912


For more information, contact:

Chris Otten
DC for Reasonable Development
(202) 810 2768

CM White Threatens DC Residents’ Housing Futures with OAH Treatment

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Press Alert, DC for Reasonable Development
dc4reality@gmail.com,  202-810-2768

Robert White Considering a Slew of Bowser Proposals to Hasten Evictions of DC Residents; One Change: Having the OAH Arbitrate Housing Issues, An Agency Without Any Online Pleadings Docket

Washington, DC — Including the attacks on  TOPA, ERAP, SNAP, and TANF.
Robert White, City Councilmember At-Large, is considering carrying more water for Mayor Bowser by shifting housing conditions and eviction cases to the DC Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) from the DC Landlord Tenant Court.

Unlike the DC Landlord Tenant Court, the OAH does not have any public online dockets, keeping the misery of the current DC evictions parade quite discrete and out of the public eye. 

“It's a serious joke that Mr. White would be putting the imminent threat of homelessness and the future of DC families in the hands of an agency, the OAH, that doesn't even account for filings and pleadings with an online docket,” stated Chris Otten, co-convenor of DC for Reasonable Development.

This morning,. members of the Green New Deal Coalition and Fair Budget Coalition among others had a sleep-in at CM Whites' office protesting Mayor Bowser's cuts to fundamental housing programs in this year's budget. During the action, it was reported by Council staff  that Mr. White was down at the DC Landlord Tenant Court.

###

——— Forwarded message ———
From: East Peterson-Trujillo <east@gndfordc.org>
Date: Mon, Jun 23, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Subject: RELEASE: Activists “Sleep In” in Council Member White's office to demand housing
To:

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Sophia Bos Shadi | sophia@fairbudget.org | 779-279-4251

Community Members call on Robert White to “Tax the Rich, House the District” in Sleep-In at Wilson Building

WASHINGTON, DC — Over a dozen community members joined a “sleep-in” at the John A. Wilson Building in Council Member At-Large Robert White's office on the morning of June 23rd to call on the Council Member to raise revenue to fund housing programs in this year’s budget.

“We are a group of folks directly impacted by homelessness and housing issues and their allies. We are here to demand that Robert White CHOOSE US, and commit to tax wealth to fund the housing programs we rely on to survive,” said Taniya Rogers, Community Organizer with ONE DC.

Advocates engaged in a sleep-in in solidarity with people who navigate life without a place to lay their head each night.

Bearing sleeping bags and blankets, residents laid down in the office and demanded that Council Member White tax the rich to invest in housing in the District. They chanted, “What do we want? Housing! How do we get it? Tax the Rich!”

Rogers also said, “A lot of our families who are homeless are upset, are sad, and are trying to find comfort in the city that they helped to create and build…So if this is what it is that we have to do to support them, then this is what we are going to do.”

Residents demonstrated ahead of the Housing Committee’s budget markup on June 24th.  Advocates are calling on the Council to fund Emergency Rental Assistance, affordable housing preservation in the Housing Production Trust Fund, public housing repairs, vouchers, and to protect the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act.

One teacher who participated in the sleep-in shared that they were taking action to advocate for their students who are homeless. 

Outside, a rally was planned to bring together diverse communities from across DC to hear from speakers directly impacted by issues of housing and homelessness, but was canceled due to this week's extreme heat, which advocates noted will impact unhoused folks first and worst.

Photos and video of the Sleep-In can be found here.

About FBC

The Fair Budget Coalition (FBC) advocates for budget and public policy initiatives that address systemic social, racial and economic inequality in the District of Columbia. We work to accomplish these goals by leveraging the collective power of our Coalition Member organizations and impacted community members, particularly those from Black and other communities of color.


East Peterson-Trujillo

they/them/theirs
Campaign Director, Green New Deal for DC
east@gndfordc.org | 925-705-5814
sign up for the GND4DC email list here

Yesterday’s COW HIGHLIGHTS, 2026 Budget Hearing —-> Fwd: Budget Testimony 2026: Appalling contradictions fitting for the GOP

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[feel free to share — especially if you have the emails of the folks who testified below]

Here are a few of the powerful testimonial highlights from yesterday's 2026 DC Budget Hearing, linked below. 

About half of the 379 people who signed up to testify were able to endure the 14-hour hearing and actually testify.  

Many groups, including the Fair Budget Coalition of which I and many others are members, showed in force and rallied on the steps of the Wilson building yesterday morning demanding the Council not fulfill the Mayor's brutal budget cuts and elimination of sanctuary city values that will bear down on the backs of working-class DC families the most.

Unfortunately, there were many voices that could not attend due to the immense duration of the hearing, so they were not heard. 

But, they, along with you can post your written testimony on this site here: https://lims.dccouncil.gov/Hearings/hearings/896  Just Click “Submit Testimony”

The hearing went until past midnight, more than fourteen hours long.  And, for those who had great testimony after 10pm, I cannot access it because Youtube cut off after 12-hours.

Next Budget Rally June 23!

fbcjune23.png.jpg

A FEW 2026 BUDGET TESTIMONIALS


———- Forwarded message ———
From: Chris R. Otten <crotten2@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Jun 18, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Subject: Budget Testimony 2026: Appalling contradictions fitting for the GOP
To: Evan Cash <ecash@dccouncil.us>, <pmendelson@dccouncil.gov>, <cow@dccouncil.gov>
Cc: Nadeau, Brianne K. (Council) <BNadeau@dccouncil.gov>, <bpinto@dccouncil.us>, <mfrumin@dccouncil.gov>, <jlewisgeorge@dccouncil.gov>, <Zparker@dccouncil.gov>, Allen, Charles (Council) <callen@dccouncil.gov>, <wfelder@dccouncil.gov>, <abonds@dccouncil.gov>, <chenderson@dccouncil.gov>, <rwhite@dccouncil.gov>, <kmcduffie@dccouncil.gov>

Testimony for the Record
 Chris Otten – Ward 1 Resident, Community Organizer

My name is Chris Otten, a 25-year resident of Adams Morgan living in a limited equity coop. This budget exposes who bears the burden when revenue falls short: everyday people—working-class DC residents, vulnerable neighborhoods, and Black and brown communities.

To plug a budget gap, the Mayor proposes removing over 50,000 DC people, kids, moms, families, from DC Healthcare Alliance—an unconscionable act that could literally cost lives. Meanwhile, millionaires got richer during COVID—and some of them even showed up here at the Wilson building to say: “Tax us more.” We should listen. Don’t kill people. Tax the rich. A small percentage increase could go a long way to stop the brutality!

The appalling contradictions are throughout the Mayor's budget—look at the RFK deal. Bowser’s budget hands acres upon acres acres of public land and $1 billion-plus subsidy to a billionaire NFL owner, so that we can lead in rushing yards, touchdowns and sacks while DC schools lead in reading and math illiteracy, and DC is in the tops of the nation in maternal mortality, HIV, asthma, and diabetes.

We don’t need football at any price—we need healthcare, education, social housing and jobs.

Please remove all RFK-related details from this budget. Let’s debate the stadium handout in the fall to allow time to root out the worst provisions, not sneak it in now.

The Mayor also proposes gutting our values as a sanctuary city—cutting immigrant services while expanding funding for untrained police willing to collaborate with ICE. All this, while many of those residents being oppressed have committed no crimes at all and instead serve their community and society honorably and diligently.

This budget is not grounded in equity or care. It’s corporate welfare for the rich—and austerity, displacement, and death for the rest of us.

Let’s talk land. Developers have already devoured Union Market, The Wharf, Shaw, Anacostia—displacing tens of thousands of families and half the city’s Black population, killing hundreds of small local businesses, and hollowing out and homogenizing DC culture like colonizers do. 

Now these land speculators are moving on to new cities, leaving DC's carcass behind—and blaming us for daring to fight back.

And Bowser’s helping them, by pushing a wave of deregulation policy changes in all things, our budget act, like:

  • Attacking TOPA, ERAP, SNAP . . . etc.

  • Making it nearly impossible to appeal bad zoning decisions.

  • Loosening eviction rules, hastening displacement.

  • And trying to bury the Rental Act in the BSA, attempting to avoid further debate and quickly getting this attack through.

This is brutal. It makes you wonder: When did Muriel Bowser switch parties?
Because this budget reads like a GOP dream—corporate handouts, deregulation, and no regard for the people.

So I ask: Will this Council stand up for DC residents?

I ask you Councilmembers, act like we are the bluest city in the nation. Strip all non-budgetary policy riders from the Budget Support Act—like the Rental Act, the stadium deal, the sanctuary city stuff and any other harmful policy changes not germane to the budget. 

If the Mayor wants those changes, she can introduce them as standalone legislation—subject to open hearings and public debate.

And instead of cuts, let’s raise revenue the right way:

  • Use public land for municipally owned social housing—just like Montgomery County is doing—producing permanent affordability and long-term revenue.

  • Tax millionaires and billionaires—a modest increase on the top brackets can prevent healthcare cuts and displacement.

  • And tap the $700M Rainy Day Fund—because the orange skies say the storm is already here.

If DC is truly a progressive city, now is the time to act like it—not just with words, but with votes.

Unless, of course… that’s too woke.

Thank you.

Fwd: Fair Fridays: The Budget is Everybody’s Business

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———- Forwarded message ———
From: Info FBC <info@fairbudget.org>
Date: Fri, Jun 6, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Subject: Fair Fridays: The Budget is Everybody's Business
To: Info FBC <info@fairbudget.org>


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DC for Reasonable Development
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Fwd: [RFK Press / Public Update] Social Housing Stadium Tweak Could Provide Critical Revenue to Avoid Devastating DC Budget Cuts

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[FORWARDING A GOOD READ]

———- Forwarded message ———
From: Social Housing for All! <socialhousing@savedcpublicland.org>
Date: Thu, Jun 5, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Subject: [RFK Press / Public Update] Social Housing Stadium Tweak Could Provide Critical Revenue to Avoid Devastating DC Budget Cuts
To: Socialhousing <socialhousing@savedcpublicland.org>
Cc: <chenderson@dccouncil.gov>, <rwhite@dccouncil.gov>, <abonds@dccouncil.gov>, <kmcduffie@dccouncil.gov>, <wfelder@dccouncil.gov>, <callen@dccouncil.gov>, <zparker@dccouncil.gov>, <jlewisgeorge@dccouncil.gov>, <mfrumin@dccouncil.gov>, <bpinto@dccouncil.gov>, <bnadeau@dccouncil.gov>, <pmendelson@dccouncil.gov>

PRESS & PUBLIC UPDATE – SAVE DC PUBLIC LAND
socialhousing@savedcpublicland.org

–June 5, 2025—

Stadium Deal Tweak: Social Housing at RFK Could Provide Critical Revenue to Avoid Devastating DC Budget Cuts

WASHINGTON, DC — With the harsh realities of Mayor Bowser’s proposed FY2026 DC Budget settling in, many are left wondering whether she quietly went down to DC BOEE and changed her party affiliation to Republican.

More than 50,000 lower-income DC residents risk losing healthcare. Childcare subsidies—vital to working families and the city’s workforce—face major cuts. Equity-focused programs are being gutted. Across the board, residents face a wave of deep human needs reductions.

Yet buried in this painful budget is a glaring contradiction: massive corporate welfare.

One analysis estimates the Commanders stadium deal could cost DC taxpayers over $1.3 billion. Meanwhile, Bowser offers tax breaks to ultra-wealthy crypto-tech bros—all while working families are expected to bear the cost of these giveaways.

SOCIAL HOUSING AT RFK: A SMART, SUSTAINABLE, REVENUE-GENERATING ALTERNATIVE

As the DC Council launches quickly into budget hearings, Councilmembers have the opportunity to intervene and stop the Mayor's cuts and realign the city's values with its budget. A critical fix: incorporate a social housing component into the RFK Stadium site deal.

Instead of handing over acres of public land tax-free to billionaire Commanders owner Josh Harris, DC should retain and develop this land into mixed-income, municipally-owned housing. Known as social housing, this model provides not only deeply affordable homes but also long-term, revenue-generating assets for the city via rents and home sales.

Social housing is not a theoretical solution as evidenced by some on the Council looking to incorporate successful models from Europe. We also have a closer example: Montgomery County’s growing portfolio of municipally-owned developments, including The Laureate near Shady Grove. These projects are delivering both housing access and steady income to the local government.

Integrating social housing at RFK could transform a lopsided stadium deal into an engine of equity and economic resilience—helping to cover infrastructure and debt costs without pushing the burden onto working families.

With budget deliberations ongoing, and the DC Council’s Committee of the Whole meeting on June 18 to review the 2026 DC Budget in toto, now is prime time for smarter, more just use of public land and public dollars.

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For more on social housing, visit:
https://savedcpublicland.org/the1617project/socialhousing/